Press Release

Marking the 10-year anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Edwynn Houk Gallery will host a commemorative exhibition of photographs taken by Joel Meyerowitz from Saturday, September 10 through Saturday, September 17, 2011.

Joel Meyerowitz, a native New Yorker and one of the early pioneers of color photography, was the only photographer granted access to Ground Zero in the days and months following the destruction of the World Trade Center. The “Aftermath” series is a 9-month document of the monumental clean-up effort and a testament to the incredible spirit and determination of the firefighters, policemen and construction workers who worked on the site.

The exhibition will be accompanied by the newly re-released “Aftermath” book, published by Phaidon, which is presented on a monumental scale and interspersed with Meyerowitz’ personal reminiscences and stories and over 400 photographs that document the transformation of the site from one of total devastation to level ground. The artist will be present for the opening reception and book signing on Saturday, September 10th from 3-5pm.

The World Trade Center Archive consists of over 8,000 images, and was created with the sponsorship of the Museum of the City of New York, to whom a set of digital files was donated for their archives and for exhibition. The Archive is an historic, photographic record of the immediate aftermath of the tragedy and the neighborhood as it evolved. The U.S. Department of State mounted 35 exhibitions of this work and they were shown around the globe from their inauguration by Colin Powell in Spring 2002 until 2005. Over 4 million people have seen these shows from Jerusalem to Islamabad, Rome, Paris, London, Kuwait, Moscow, Istanbul, and 200 other cities. Meyerowitz’s photographs from the World Trade Center Archives were also on view when he represented the United States at the 8th Venice Biennale for Architecture in 2002.

Joel Meyerowitz is an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in over 350 exhibitions in museums and galleries around the world. His first book, Cape Light, is considered a classic work of color photography. He is the author of 15 other books, including Bystander: The History of Street Photography and Tuscany: Inside the Light. A major two-volume, retrospective book, published by Phaidon will be released in Spring 2012.

Joel Meyerowitz is a Guggenheim fellow and a recipient of both the NEA and NEH awards. His work is included in many museum collections including; the Amon Carter Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Art, Centre Pompidou, France, International Center of Photography, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and The Whitney Museum of American Art amongst others. An internationally traveling exhibition of 120 works representative of Meyerowitz’s transition from 35mm street photography toward a large format camera entitled, “Out of the Ordinary 1970-1980” originated at the Jeu de Paume, in Paris, France, in 2006. It has been exhibited at the Museum der Modern in Salzburg, Austria, and the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the Musee de la Photographie in Charleroi, Belgium and the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography in Thessaloniki, Greece.